• Family Life

    Fall School Picture Day

    Today is Picture Day at school and the kids chose extra cute outfits to wear for the occasion. Tookie was rocking a grey and black hoodie and Ariana had a sweet pink ensemble to match her backpack. They were both very excited and luckily both had their pictures taken in the early morning, because unfortunately Ariana got sent home sick! She has had a cough all week and has missed three days already, and did a good job of hiding her cough from me this morning but her teacher wasn’t fooled and sent her to the nurse. Now she has…

  • Cats - Family Life

    Arin and the Fuzzy Buddies

    Our cats have a pretty consistent schedule, they like to sleep in the same spots at certain times of the day. In the sunniest part of the day Hanzo is always on his window seat and Ahsoka is either sunning herself in front of a porch window or hiding in the highest hole she can find. Then, in the late afternoon they both disappear, because that’s the witching hour when the kids are at their craziest. Like clockwork, after dinner they come out looking for food and pets, though. Usually they are underfoot when I’m trying to cook or do…

  • Family Life

    Cozy Sofa Brothers

    Alistair and Arthas were being cute and cozy on the sofa today and I just had to memorialize it with some photos. Arthas hardly ever sits still, and Alistair only does when he is gaming. Here they are being nice and snuggly together on a rainy afternoon. I thought it was extra cute how Arthas was getting cozy while Alistair enjoyed some video game time on the sofa. Alistair is usually a sweet big brother, helping out Arthas and showing him what toys are fun to play with, but given the choice he’d rather game than play with toys usually.…

  • Scenic - Video

    Video: Our Afternoon Driveway, Scenic Montage

    Welcome to a video montage of our old-fashioned driveway on a sunny early autumn afternoon! Have a look around at the view from the road and the beautiful old trees and natural scenery on rural Long Island, New York. Light midday traffic noises accompany a soft breeze through tree branches and birdsong. I hope you enjoyed this little peek of our life at Howell Home, this was a beautiful afternoon that I had some time to spare while waiting for the kids to come home on the bus. It still feels like summer time in September down here, and everything…

  • Family Life

    All Aboard for the First Day of School

    September has finally arrived and so has the first day of school for 2021! It’s an exciting year because it’s the first year of Kindergarten for Ariana, it’s the first full year of in-person school for Alistair, and it’s the first time in almost two years that Arin will be attending in-person, and his first year of high school! Lots of excitement around our house today. Arin is the first one off to catch the school bus because the high school of course starts first. Our town is very small so there is no middle school, just an elementary which…